With over 400 billion cups consumed every year, coffee is the world's most popular beverage. Although coffee has been enjoyed for thousands of years, researchers have only recently discovered that coffee contains acrylamide. In April 2002, the Swedish National Food Administration and researchers from Stockholm University announced their findings that acrylamide, a potentially cancer-causing chemical, is formed in many types of foods and beverages that undergo heat processing. Acrylamide has a carcinogenic potency in rats that is similar to that of other carcinogens in food, but for humans, the relative potency in food and beverages is not known. Only limited human population data are available for acrylamide and these provide no evidence of cancer risk from occupational exposure. (FAO/WHO Consultation on the Health Implications of Acrylamide in Food: Summary Report; Geneva, Switzerland, 25-27 Jun. 2002.)
Although further research is needed to assess what health effects, if any, may result from human consumption of acrylamide at the levels commonly found in roasted coffee products, many consumers have voiced concern. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for reducing the level of acrylamide in roasted coffee beans. It is also an object of the present invention to provide roasted coffee beans having reduced levels of acrylamide. Further, it is an object of the present invention to provide an article of commerce that communicates to the consumer that a roasted coffee product has reduced or low levels of acrylamide.